Books listed in the order I read them, not according to impact.
Desperate Passage: The Donner Party's Perilous Journey West by Ethan Rarick
Such a macabre way to start the New Year and road trip around Utah. The suggestion came from Danny, whose Entrepreneurship and Literature was reading a book per week through the semester.
I loved the pioneering details and the decisions and interpersonal relationships that created this pioneer company. I didn't share the author's eagerness to spend time with cannibalism.
Not inspiring, but interesting.
Crash Landing on You
A Netflix series that felt like a shared family book. Thanks for the recommendation, Jen. Loved it. Now I feel happy and interested whenever I hear Korean on the street. Maybe it was listening to Korean language for this many hours?
The Art of Gathering by Priya Parker
I thought I might not "need" to read the book after listening to a couple of fascinating and informative podcasts by Priya Parker. I was wrong! This book was better than the best podcast. Highly recommended.
The Midnight Library by Matt Haig
Great insights at the end.
Bonds That Make Us Free by C. Terry Warner
A re-read. I keep forgetting.
Where'd You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple
Congrats to a good reader - Kathleen Wilhoite. The text is over-the-top but entertaining.
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon
I read this because Sage read it for school. Builds understanding, but also a downer.
About the same time that I read this book, the girls and I happened upon a Netflix documentary which did a wonderful job of making an autistic character relatable: The Speed Cubers, 40 min. The documentary also introduces Feliks Zemdegs, the speed cubing champion who is such an inspiring every-day hero. Highly recommended (the documentary more than the book)
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
A laugh-out-loud, cringe-out-loud book; it felt like a privilege to listen together and discuss in the car.
We Were the Lucky Ones by Georgia Hunter
A WWII family history that reads like a novel, written by one of the descendants of the family. I've read a lot of WWII histories, but still found this one unique and worth reading.
The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street by Karina Yan Glaser
The Making of Biblical Womanhood by Beth Allison Barr
Loved this book. The author is a medieval studies professor. Traces the history of women in Christianity and shows how the Bible has been used in different historical periods to create women's roles. The "how-we-got-to-now" book of womanhood in the Christian tradition. A direct challenge to the current state of affairs. The book is strengthened by Barr's personal experiences as a Baptist minister's wife.
What Do We Do With the Bible? Richard Rohr
Loved this book, too. Taming the Wild Beast: Let's read the Bible as Jesus did. Rohr describes the Bible as profoundly riddled with obstacles. He describes the Bible as a "wild beast" and a "text in travail" that has done as much harm as good; yet, he sets out to convince the reader that the wild-beast Bible is worth attending in her travail, despite the risks.
The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman
Haunting. One of several books I read after listening to the "Breaking Down Patriarchy" podcast, a book club-type podcast of the founding texts of feminism.
Women and Power
Connecting the misogyny of the classics - The Odyssey, in particular - to online trolling of female politicians and public figures.
Unfinished Business by Anne Marie Slaughter
A maturing of 2nd-wave feminism, written in conversational, accessible, even autobiographical style. The author wrote the book after penning an article for The Atlantic that was downloaded more than any other article at that point. ("Women - Why We Can't Have It All").
Basically, Slaughter tells her compelling personal story and draws on research to argue that both men and women can "fully participate" in their families and use their full talents on the job. Slaughter pushes back against the "lean in" mentality, arguing that "leaning in" only solves part of the problem.
I appreciated her list of workplace-and-gender myths, challenging ideas that many of us assume are facts.
Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi
So much sexual violence, not just in this book but in our shared world history. =sigh= So much love, as well. Each chapter was about a new generation in the family, starting in early 1700's.
The book followed one family line in Africa and another strand of the same family in slavery to America. The author draws from her own family history.
Among the Living and the Dead: A Tale of Exile and Homecoming by Inara Verzemnieks
Another book of true family history written by a descendant of the main characters. I initially resisted the poetic descriptions and thick writing, recognized that my resistance was needless, and then sunk in and enjoyed every sentence. I've read a lot of WWII books, but this was an entirely new angle. Shed insight into all the former communist countries, which were less modern/westernized at the beginning of the war than I realized.
This book made an incredible difference in my life because I read it before travelling to Latvia with friends. That trip wouldn't have been as significant for me without having read this book, so I feel very thankful to have read it. Thanks, Meliss!
Searching for Sunday by Rachel Held Evans
Like The Art of Gathering, this book was one that I'd heard about so much that I wasn't sure I needed to read it, but - duh! - it was worth it. There's a reason that certain books, like certain tourist spots, are popular. Good writing and insights. Personal. Autobiographical and stories. Goes through sacraments to rework the meaning and significance - baptism, confession, communion, marriage.
Chapter 38 - the whole thing. Time to make peace.
Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer
Reciprocity. Becoming indigenous. Braiding the hair of mother earth (sweetgrass) as an act of caring and love. Three sisters planting.
This book was a highlight of my reading year. Hats off to Robin Wall Kimmerer for her writing and for her perspective. Thanks to Oak, who was the first one to recommend it to me.
Ecology- the subversive science. - because it questions our place in the world
Reciprocity. We are dreaming of a time when the land will give thanks for the people.
Teach Yourself How to Learn
A quick brush-up of skills for school.
Danish but Not Lutheran: The Impact of Mormonism on Danish Cultural Identity, 1850-1920 by Julie Allen
This was a high-impact book for me this year. Approximately half of my ancestors immigrated from Denmark in the 1850s and 1860s. For a long time, I've been curious to know more about the context of their decision. What was it like in Denmark during the years when my ancestors decided to join the church and leave Denmark?
Learning about the Hurrnhutians in Latvia also added context. Thank you for writing this book, Julie.
Mr. Lemoncello's Library by Chris Grabenstein
A fun road-trip book.
Restoration by Patrick Mason
Not "Restoration of the church," not the "Restoration of the gospel," but "Restoration."
Mormon Women at the Crossroads: Global Narratives and the Power of Connectedness by Caroline Kline
Loved this book. Caroline Kline interviewed Mormon women from around the world and weaves their personal experiences together with powerful insights and academic maturity. When I picked up this book, I didn't guess how readable this book would be. I didn't want to put it down.
All the Hate U Give
I was especially interested in the main character's description of switching identities as she moved between the social groups from her white school to her black neighborhood.
YA-level character development.
Allie and Bea by Catherine Ryan Hyde
Bea has been telling lies of omission all of her life and finds her life is better when she stops.
The History of Christianity: From the Disciples to the Dawn of the Reformation by Luke Timothy Johnson
Apples Never Fall by Liane Moriarty
"Thank you to my beautiful daughter, Anna, a.k.a. 'the best daughter in the world and fab child - in your face, George.' This is what happens when you leave your document open on your computer for a passing 11-year old. I decided I'd leave her words for posterity as it seemed appropriate for a book about sibling rivalry." - Liane Moriarty
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
Guy Montag, the fireman; Mildred, Captain Beatty, the cowardly Professor Faber, the mechanical hound that can "remember and identify 10,000 odor indexes on 10,000 men without resetting."
"So it was the hand that started it all… His hands had been infected, and soon it would be his arms. He could feel the poison working up his wrists…His hands were ravenous, and his eyes were beginning to feel hunger, as if they must look at something, anything, everything. His wife said, “What are you doing?” He balanced in space with the book in his sweating, cold fingers."
On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness by Andrew Peterson
Thanks for this recommendation, Amelia. It was a fun road-trip fun book for all ages.
Running with the Buffaloes by Chris Lear
"The greatest joy in life is being serious."
"The more pumped up on rhetoric, the worse you’ll run. Go fast for a couple of miles and then do worse in the end. I want it to be business as usual."
Chris Lear spent a season observing the CU Boulder men's cross-country team and wrote a book about it. Running 100 miles a week to try to 'peak' for a fast race at nationals.
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling
Now that our ride to church is so short, we listen while doing Saturday jobs around the house or sometimes in the car.
The Best Christmas Pageant Ever
Like certain family videos, this story keeps getting better with repetition. Finished it up, out loud, in a beautiful cabin in New Harmony overlooking Kolob Canyon with the whole family.
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